A Tasting Tour of Chicago's Empanada Row on Southport Avenue
Chicago is full of unofficial food and drink hotspots — think Randolph Street’s Restaurant Row in the West Loop and the hoppy Malt Row in Ravenswood. Get ready to add Lakeview’s “Empanada Row” to your gastronomic bucket list. Your eyes will probably be drawn to the Music Box Theatre’s brightly lit marquee before you notice these four restaurants on this short span of Southport, but your taste buds will thank you once you’ve tried each spot’s take on this flaky, savory Latin American dish.
Cafe Tola
3612 N. Southport Ave.
The other three restaurants that make up Empanada Row focus on Argentinian cuisine, but Cafe Tola is all about Mexican-American food. This eatery has 10 empanada varieties — $4 a pop — with a mix of carnivorous and vegetarian options. Meat-eaters will love the beef sirloin, buffalo chicken, chicken salsa verde, red or green spicy pork, or steak and potato empanadas. Vegetarians can please their palettes with the rajas (roasted poblanos, cheese, and potato), black bean, plantain and goat cheese, and spinach and ricotta empanadas.
If you’re doing delivery, try your luck with empanada roulette. Save a couple dollars by letting the restaurant pick out your flavors (don’t worry — you can specify your vegetarian or meat-eating preference).
Cafe Tola also has a good variety of cafe drinks ranging from the simple Americano and hot coffee to coconut iced coffee and Masala chai.
If you don’t want to be tempted by the other empanada places on Southport, try out Cafe Tola Lonchería and Tacos in Avondale. DNAinfo reported last year on the second location’s popularity.
5411 Empanadas
3715 N. Southport Ave.
5411 Empanadas does its namesake dish baked, not fried. The restaurant takes its name from the international dialing code for Buenos Aires. It started as a food truck, which still rolls around Chicago, before getting its brick and mortar location on Southport (more locations were quick to follow).
5411 Empanadas has nearly 20 fillings to tempt you — a single empanada will cost you $2.75. If you are in the mood for some breakfast flavors, try the veggie and egg or the bacon, cheddar, and egg empanadas. For something a little more adventurous, nibble on the bacon, date, and goat cheese empanada or the mushroom, thyme, and blue cheese empanada. Top your choices off with red hot sauce or chimichurri sauce.
To indulge in the sweeter things in life, order up the banana and Nutella empanada. The Southport location also sells desserts including dulce de leche cheesecake, flan, and alfajor de chocolate.
El Mercado Food Mart
3767 N. Southport Ave.
El Mercado has been open on Southport Avenue for more than four decades. Rodolfo Di Sapio bought the store in 1980, added more Argentine products, and started cooking up empanadas. Today, his son Sergio is keeping that tradition going.
Head up to the heated counter to browse the empanada options; you will usually find ham and cheese and sweet corn.
El Mercado also sells grocery products from Argentina, Brazil, and Peru and serves as a butcher. You can get fresh cuts of Argentine meats like asado, bife ancho, bola de loma, and vacio.
Tango Sur
3763 N. Southport Ave.
Tango Sur is owned by Sergio Di Sapio, the person who inherited El Mercado from his father Rodolfo. While El Mercado is a food mart, Tango Sur is an Argentinian restaurant and steakhouse.
The menu offers up a few different kinds of empanadas at $2.50 apiece. You can choose from beef, chicken, corn, ham and cheese, or spinach and cheese.
Tango Sur does a lot more than empanadas: Try pasta with Argentine tomato sauce, chorizo dishes, grilled strip steak, and a whole bunch of other flavorful entrees.
After hitting up any of these empanada spots, head to Southport Avenue newcomer FRÍO Gelato, an artisanal Argentinian gelato shop, to sate your sweet tooth. Spoon up familiar flavors like chocolate or dulce de leche, or try something a little different like queso y miel (cheese and honey).